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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-05-18 Public Comment - D. Weiss - Sale of Beer and Wine in BozemanFrom: Dave Weiss To: Agenda Subject: Public Comment on sale of Beer and Wine in Bozeman. Date: Friday, February 02, 2018 5:11:38 PM Attachments: Comments For City - Followup.pdf Approval of Bozeman United Methodist Church for new restaurant.pdf To Whom It May Concern. Please see attached PDF files. The first is my personal comments on agenda item for Monday 2/5’s meeting. The 2nd is an email from the Pastor of Bozeman United Methodist Church supporting changes to the proximity rules. Thank you. Dave Weiss From: Deborah Christine deborah.christine@me.com Subject: Approval of Bozeman United Methodist Church for new restaurant Date: February 2, 2018 at 2:16 PM To: dave@daves-sushi.com To Whom it might concern: Dave Wiess contacted the Bozeman United Methodist Church (BUMC) at 121 S. Willson Ave., Bozeman, MT, to request approval for his new restaurant. He indicated that he plans to serve beer and wine along with a full menu. He asked that I might write a letter representing the church in approving his endeavor. I have spoken with our Trustee Committee and they agree that we have no objection to his restaurant or his intent to serve alcoholic beverages. The previous restaurant also served alcohol and we did not experience any problems. BUMC wants to support local businesses and cooperate to make Bozeman a welcoming and attractive city. Please do not hesitate to call or email me if you have any further questions or concerns. Blessings, Pastor Deb Rev. Deborah Christine Bozeman UMC 406-586-5413 deb@bozemanumc.org www.bozemanumc.org “Let me be Christ’s hands, heart and spirit in the world” Beth A. Richardson Dear City Commissioners, City Attorneys and Staff, My Name is Dave Weiss, I am the founder of Dave's Sushi and also an owner of Jam Fusion, both in Downtown Bozeman. I am commenting on the modification of city code to more generally allow the sale of beer and wine in Downtown Bozeman, or possibly on a more city wide basis. I would like to thank all of those who have already been involved with me on this issue for going above and beyond my expectations to allow this to be addressed in such a timely manner. This is a follow-up comment to those that I submitted on January 11th, 2018. First, I would like to apologize for not being able to attend the February 5th City Commission meeting. I have had plans, since October, to be out of town from 2/2 – 2/9. Please forgive my absence, and consider my written comments to hold the same weight as if I could personally attend the meeting and speak. In addition, these follow up comments are to address the staff recommendations for modifying the Bozeman Municipal Code and/or UDC to more generally provide exceptions for MCA 16.3.306, known as the “proximity rule”. While I understand the recommendation to modify Bozeman Code 4.02.020 to override the State's “proximity rule” for the sale of beer and wine only for establishments the B3 and B2M zoning, I do believe that to further restrict a City Beer License With Wine Amendment to act like a Restaurant Beer And Wine (RBW) License through further modifications to the UDC does not make good sense. Please consider the following: – How will the city handle code compliance and enforcement. Where will the funds and human resources come from? I believe this will have measurable fiscal effects. Will the already overworked planning department need to create new forms? Who will review these forms every year? Will an otherwise successful business be closed down if one year their food sales are only 64% of their total sales? – Why would the city want to add this extra level of complication to the UDC? – Please note that adding a wine amendment to a city beer license already requires (at the state level) the establishment operate as a restaurant. While the state's definition of restaurant here is much broader than what is required for an RBW License, should the city be requiring this additional investment and level of complication for a business owner? – The sale of liquor and beer without food (through a Brewery and a Distillery) is already allowed near a church downtown, because these establishments operate through a manufucturing license from the state, rather than a “retail” license, like an RBW, a City Beer License, or an All Beverage license. – Additionally, there are already several establishments downtown and in the B2M district that sell beer and wine (not to mention liquor) for off-premises-consumption. Allowing this for an establishment with a license from the state that allows this leads to more shopping downtown and to the B2M area. Again, I believe the type of activity that we need in the downtown and B2M districts. – Considering specifically excluding gambling/gaming may be a worthwhile discussion of it's own, but please note that all City Beer licenses created “recently” (I think for about 15 or 20 years now, but I'm not 100% sure of that time frame) explicitly exclude gambling/gaming. – I believe the sale of beer and wine with or without food is exactly the type of establishment that will contribute to a thriving Downtown and B2M district. – For my individual business plan, theses restrictions will affect my business plan some. To guess a number, I would say I will need to modify my business plan perhaps, 10%. And I believe it will reduce my sales by that same 10%. Not a deal breaker, but that is a real economic impact for myself, as well as my employees. However, I know there this could be deal breaker for other license holders, preventing them from operating downtown and in B2M. For a real world example, imagine a small hotel/motel that would like to provide a spot for their guests to simply enjoy a beer or glass of wine without operating full scale food service, for which they may not have the space, time, or experience to operate. In conclusion, I believe there is too much work and potential confusion by placing the additional restrictions on license holders at the city level. As noted by staff, there are already over 30 different types of alcohol licenses issued by the State Of Montana. Shouldn't we be enouraging those fortunate enough to have access to one of these licenses to operate an establishment in Downtown Bozeman and/or the B2M district? Also, given the recommendations as written, the restrictions listed do not 100% match the RBW restrictions from the state. For example, an RBW licensed establishment may currently buy wine from a licensed wine distributor, not just an agency liquor store. This is just one example of the potential confusion of placing further restrictions. It would be so much simpler, and better for creating a thriving Bozeman to just modify the municipal code to allow for the sale of beer and wine anywhere in the B3 (Downtown) and B2M (Midtown) districts. Thank you very much for your consideration, and please do not hesitate to call or email me with any additional questions or clarifications. Sincerely, Dave Weiss 406-570-9158